Deep Class of Setters in 17s Makes For Amazing Duos

I've been trying to get to this one for a little while now, but this little tournament came up that I needed to cover, so I spent some time focusing on that Cap Classic thing. Now that that is over, the focus has shifted to BIDS. Teams are polishing up, and getting ready for Regionals. This is technically my first preview post for that. Watching a few key games at Cap Classic I was reminded of the absolute wealth of riches a couple teams have at the setter position. Everyone has their own impression of what the most valuable on the court is, but for me it's the setter. So I really pay attention to who has what here. One player getting hurt on a team can completely end a season. I know a few high level club AND HS teams that will tell you that losing your setter changes how your whole team plays. Some teams are just so deep there, which is great in case your 5-1 setter goes down, having someone that can step in can save your season. In a 6-2 you need both of them, and sometimes their similarities or differences contribute to keeping stability or keeping the other team off balance, depending on your team.   Metro 17 Travel : [player_tooltip player_id='478903' first='Barrett' last='Bolter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='292644' first='Caycee' last='Chhum']   A lot of the inspiration of this post, I'm not sure if it gets any better than this. Caycee is a reigning Gatorade Player of the Year, Barrett just won a State Title in MD, where she is part of another crazy good pair of setters ironically. Both of them have similar size, great hands, and defense. Barrett is one of the best servers in Maryland and is just constantly putting up big runs when the pressure is on. Caycee is just one of the best all around players in the area period. There are a lot of teams around the country that would kill for this kind of depth at setter. They run a 6-2 but it's one of those where things are almost seamless from one to the other.   [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'] 17s: [player_tooltip player_id='206729' first='Megan' last='Phan'] and Meg Roynane   Juniors runs a 5-1 with Megan playing the primary role, she's 5'7 so this isn't a height thing, it's a preference to the system. That's a whole different post for a different day. Maybe this summer. For now though, Megan is a great setter, shes got wonderful hands, plays great defense and makes really smart plays. She's got a new weapon this year, one of my favorite players in [player_tooltip player_id='290176' first='Kieran' last='Rhoton'] on a team that already had a fair share of stars, but what Kieran brings is a level of defense you don't often see in pins. She covers the middle, and net floor aggressively, especially tips and rolls which allows Megan and [player_tooltip player_id='438070' first='Camryn' last='Coulther'] to split the back court and cover hard hit balls from the wings. Meg is about the same size as Megan and the two Metro girls, which teases my future post about height judgement in Volleyball, but I digress. This [program_tooltip program_id='484770' first='VA' last='Juniors'] team is one of my favorite to watch, and these two are a big part of that.    Meg is a fantastic under the radar setter. She sets for Annapolis HS where she's by far their best player and just takes over games by herself. She's a great, aggressive defender, and she's got the guile to drop a few kills a game with cleverly placed dumps. She's moved around the area a bit, and is a calm veteran presence because of it. She's run both a 5-1 and a 6-2 system and has a ton of flexibility in her game. She can help seal weaknesses of most any team because she can cover and be wherever she needs to be, while still giving you different looks speed and play wise.    [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last=''] 17 Nick: [player_tooltip player_id='298857' first='Ingrid' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='529251' first='Jessica' last='Li']   Yet another pair that just shows how the talent at setter has clumped in this region. As has been a trend so far, they are also both in the same height range as all the girls on this list so far. Ingrid sets great balls to both pins with a nice touch on her jump set, and I don't need to tell you how well she sets the middle with THREE star middles tearing up the court for [program_tooltip program_id='476729' first='Paramount' last='']. As with most top setters, her secondary position is DS, showing her defensive ability which is becoming more and more important with the more teams developing and spreading stars to the OPP position, they tend to tee off on setters from that spot and they've got to be able to play those hard hit balls defensively. Ingrid is one of the top setters in her class in VA. Jess just won a state title in MD, and plays similarly to Ingrid.    Another one of the top setters in their class, she had a great run in HS this season, turning in one of the best single performances as a setter, putting up 52 assists in a playoff game. A lot of players in this area will dabble in beach as they are growing up and she's no different, having some success in those tournaments as well along the way. I'm not sure if she's given thought to the dual path in college, but there are a few schools that recruit the same girls for both, and she could be very successful in that kind of role. She's got a lot of utility and is very flexible in what she can do on the court.    [program_tooltip program_id='498081' first='Loudoun' last='Elite'] 17 Quintin: [player_tooltip player_id='778213' first='Ellie' last='Nguyen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='444617' first='Kamilla' last='Hendrix']   Ellie is a smooth setter, she's got good hands and never seems to get rattled on the court. She spent some time at The St. James earlier in her career, and plays for Marshall in Falls Church. I've seen her a few times already this season and the big trait that stands out to me is that she's just always locked in, she goes, she makes the play, she moves on, as they get older that trait is called professionalism. You just know you can count on her and she's going to go get the job done, very consistent.    Here's another one of my vastly underrated, ranked too low setters. Kamilla has game, she's got good quiet hands, she sets all three spots well, shows good chemistry with their star OH [player_tooltip player_id='536741' first='Lacey' last='Bogues'], who can be tricky to set because she's about the same height as her, and she's got explosive vertical that lets her excel hitting, the difference in that is that there's a different speed that she arrives to the ball vs a hitter that is 6'2 and may glide a little more, the athletic, explosive pins get there so fast that as a setter you've got to have some finesse to find that sweet spot she needs it in. Kamilla has shown that plenty the couple times I've watched her play this season. Like most of my underrated players on this list, she should be ranked much higher.    MVSA Blaze: [player_tooltip player_id='438058' first='Vivian' last='Ngan'] and Chloe Tanesco   Both of these girls are in that same vein as the steady, solid setters teams need to survive. There has to be a setter shortage somewhere because there are starter quality players in multiple spots on these teams, so someone has to be short. This team even has a 3rd setter in [player_tooltip player_id='749346' first='Ellyn' last='Kim'] who set for Richard Montgomery and has been a perennial state title contender, I'd write more about her but when I went to watch them play I only got to see Vivian and Chloe. However the debate about how good all of them were, and their exceptional play and defense was a big part of how this post came around. Vivian is one of the shorter setters on this list, but for me, height isn't a qualifier of your skill or ability. For me a setter's hands are the most important, being able to get the ball where it needs to be, on time, consistently, and without throwing it in the net or too far outside the pin are the absolute first requirement. She shouldn't be judged on her height, but her performances, and those are exceptional.    Chloe is another setter on this list that doesn't get enough credit. She plays for Magruder and is one of those overlooked players that appears far lower in the rankings than she should. She's a solid player on the serve, defense and setting plane, and she's a competitor. At Cap Hill I got to watch her play in the stadium for a game and she looked sharp, swapping in a couple good passes when she got tested defensively and then ran a great offense keeping MVSA in the game.    MD Juniors 17 Elite Black: Milla Danek and [player_tooltip player_id='731013' first='Ella' last='Strain']   Ella I know really well, she's another like Vivian before, shorter setter, former Libero, good defense, great server, really good hands and sets multiple positions and tempos. She's been keeping the team in games with good serving runs all season, she's a great 6-2 setter, and is good for a couple kills a game with a lethal dump when she's reading the court well. Her set-mate is Milla Danek, who is the setter for Spalding, and is another in that same 5'7 ish range as the girls mentioned above.    Milla has run both a 5-1 and a 6-2 and has great touch for the outside pins. She plays hard and will hustle for balls, especially tips and rolls. She's good for a few aces each game and has good speed on the court. She made my all-conference team for the IAAM this past season and has carried that over into club season with her first year at MD Juniors. She runs a great pair with Ella, as they have a couple differing parts of their game that compliment each other, while giving a different look to other teams and making them adjust to whichever one is in.    These twelve alone are some of the best in the region, and they clump together on six teams. There are other teams out there that generally compete and could use any one of these girls, but the way of the sport is that the best try to find the teams with the best chance to compete and most exposure, hoping for college looks. Playing and being a star on a smaller club is great for reps and development, but when you're trying to showcase your talents and get noticed by coaches, you want to be on the big courts and the big divisions, which leads players to form super teams at the top clubs.   With Regionals knocking on the door, this is a good look at some of the contenders and what could be a difference maker in a long season. A star setter running a 5-1 all season has a lot of wear and tear and injury chances along the way, without another capable player ready to stand in, that could be the end of the run with one bad landing, or collision. You'll notice most of the teams run a 6-2 system, sharing the load, giving different looks in the game, relying on the strengths of a loaded roster, you'll also notice many if not all of these setters have been a DS at some point in their career. The value on Setters that can pass, as well as Bros that can set is becoming more and more highlighted. Flexibility has a ton of value these days, which is why many coaches favor all around 6 position Pins vs the 3 rotation pins, and now that's starting to lean into cross training the Liberos and Setters as well. Having one that can play both is going to become a real option for coaches soon I think, and most of this list qualifies.

I've been trying to get to this one for a little while now, but this little tournament came up that I needed to cover, so I spent some time focusing on that Cap Classic thing. Now that that is over, the focus has shifted to BIDS. Teams are polishing up, and getting ready for Regionals. This is technically my first preview post for that. Watching a few key games at Cap Classic I was reminded of the absolute wealth of riches a couple teams have at the setter position. Everyone has their own impression of what the most valuable on the court is, but for me it's the setter. So I really pay attention to who has what here. One player getting hurt on a team can completely end a season. I know a few high level club AND HS teams that will tell you that losing your setter changes how your whole team plays. Some teams are just so deep there, which is great in case your 5-1 setter goes down, having someone that can step in can save your season. In a 6-2 you need both of them, and sometimes their similarities or differences contribute to keeping stability or keeping the other team off balance, depending on your team.